THE organisers of this year’s Fastnet Film Festival’s – which runs from Wednesday May 21st to Sunday May 25th – had much to celebrate at their launch party at The Crane Lane in Cork this evening.
The cast attending the five-day festival – big name actors like Bill Pullman, Barry Keoghan and Domhnall Gleeson, plus lots of others who have yet to be announced – would rival any blockbuster!
Festival director Tom McCarthy and creative advisor Lenny Abrahamson said this year’ event promises a thrilling mix of Hollywood stars, screenings, panels, masterclasses, and special guest events in the stunning village of Schull.
The launch party alone was attended by over 200 filmmakers, who were determined to make the launch, as well as the festival, as their way of marking the continued success of Fastnet Film Festival.
The festival opener on the evening of Wednesday May 21th attracts a cast of thousands. It’s fun and informal atmosphere has become legend.
It used to be held in a huge, tree-lined garden but this year they will be celebrating at the new Fastnet Film Festival headquarters at The Old Convent.
There is lots to see and do between then and the closing night award ceremony on Sunday the 25th. Some of the highlights will, of course, include in-depth interviews with Domhnall Gleeson, Barry Keoghan, Nicola Coughlan, and Bill Pullman.
The director of Anemone, Ronan Day-Lewis, will also be in the hot seat at an event that will take a look at the screenplay he co-wrote with his father, Daniel Day-Lewis.
Kin Uncovered, with Aidan Gillen, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Clare Dunne, and co-creator Peter McKenna is a must for fans of the fab TV series.
Then, there is Music and Film Experience, which will feature the screening of From a Forest to a Fiddle, followed by a live performance by Zöe Conway & John McIntyre at the Holy Trinity Church on May 22.
Lots of people come to West Cork especially for the Irish Language Day on Cape Clear, as well this year’s world premiere: In the Opinion of the Censor, which was directed by Andrew Gallimore
Amongst the master classes and panels, people can attend Cinematography by Suzie Lavelle of Mad About the Boy, Normal People fame; or scriptwriting by Tom Berkeley, Ross White, Aislinn Clarke, Clare Dunne; and distribution by Patrick O’Neill.
Other sessions include documentary, production, shorts-to-feature transitions, TV filming, music in film, the live Puttnam Pitching Event and more. And the featured films, this year, are: The Commitments, Chasing the Light, No Other Land, Oddity, Ex Machina, Mojo, While You Were Sleeping, Peter Rabbit, The Runway, and more.
